According to director Hideaki Anno, Evangelion was an attempt to make all perspectives into one, creating characters that represent different things to different viewers to make it impossible for everyone to arrive at a single theory. To some viewers, the characters are psychological representations, while to others, they are philosophical, religious, historical, and even themselves.[1]

Anno was influenced by Ryu Murakami's political economy novel The Fascism of Love and Fantasy(愛と幻想のファシズム,Ai to Gensō no Fashizumu?), and the names "Toji Suzuhara", "Kensuke Aida", and the surname "Horaki" and "Aida" come from this book. Many of the surnames of the characters in Evangelion are named after Japanese warships in World War II.[2]

Most of Evangelion‍ '​s characters' ages were plotted before broadcasting the TV series, but their birthdays were not settled.[3] After the TV series finished, GAINAX released birthdays which were similar to those of each character's voice actors, except Rei Ayanami, Toji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida and Kaworu Nagisa.[4] This time, the characters' birth years were still unrevealed.

Adult characters' birth years were simply calculated from their age, but there was an additional aspect in determining the children's ones. According to the Japanese educational system, in 2015 second graders of junior high school (eighth graders) are basically made up of children who were born from April 2, 2001 to April 1, 2002.[5] Children's birth years were set in proportion to this rule. However these birth years did not change the children's ages of 14 in year 2015. This is the reason why Asuka Langley Soryu and Toji Suzuhara were born in December 2001 and Hikari Horaki was born in February 2002, despite all children except Kaworu are 14 in 2015.

In the Japanese dialogue for the original anime, the Eva pilots were always referred to as "Children," even when referring to an individual pilot. The English translation referred to the individual pilots as First Child, etc. In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, the expression "(n)th Children" is not used. Instead, the pilots are referred to as Ichibanme no tekikakusha(一番目の適格者?, "The First Qualified Person/Candidate")Dai Ichi no Shōjo(第一の少女?, "First Girl"), Sanninme no kodomo(三人目の子供?, "Third Child"), or Dai San no Shōnen(第三の少年?, "Third Boy").

Shinji Ikari (碇 シンジ,Ikari Shinji?) is the Third Child and the pilot of Unit 01. He is the son of Gendo and the "late" Yui Ikari. Abandoned by his father when he was a toddler, Shinji has grown up to be reclusive and withdrawn, choosing to often run away from difficult situations.[6] Over time and with encouragement from Misato, he learns to be less cowardly, more outspoken, and more confident, but his progress is undone near the end of the series.[7] He becomes friends with Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida, in addition to his complicated relationships with Rei and Asuka.

Rei Ayanami (綾波 レイ,Ayanami Rei?) is the First Child, and the pilot of Unit 00. At the start of the series, she is shown to be socially withdrawn, seemingly emotionless, and remote, with her only apparent relationship being with Gendo Ikari.[9] As the series progresses, she and Shinji grow closer.[10] It is eventually revealed that Rei is a vessel for the soul of the Angel Lilith,[7] and was created specifically by Gendo to be used as a tool for accomplishing instrumentality.[11] Soulless clones of her are kept hidden in the deepest levels of NERV headquarters to be used as the supposed "cores" of the Dummy Plugs and as replacement bodies for Rei if she should die.[12]

Asuka Langley Soryu (惣流・アスカ・ラングレー,Sōryū Asuka Rangurē?) is the Second Child and the pilot of Unit 02. She is of mixed German and Japanese descent, but her nationality is American. Asuka is brash, egotistical, and often verbally abusive (especially to Shinji), and has a very high opinion of her appearance and her skill as an Eva pilot.[13] She also has a fierce desire for independence. Her attitude, however, is a front masking deep-seated insecurities stemming from her traumatic childhood.[14] Asuka is openly infatuated with Ryoji Kaji, but is also attracted to Shinji; however, she cannot properly express her affections.[15] In Rebuild of Evangelion series, her name is changed to Asuka Shikinami Langley (式波) and ranked as captain of the Euro airforce.[16]

Toji Suzuhara (鈴原 トウジ,Suzuhara Tōji?) is the Fourth Child. Toji is a tough boy, the stereotypical "jock," and is in constant conflict with Asuka. His younger sister was injured in the battle between the third Angel, Sachiel, and Unit 01, and he beats Shinji up soon after for being indirectly responsible. However, after witnessing firsthand the suffering Shinji experiences piloting Unit 01 in the battle against Shamshel, Toji comes to respect Shinji, apologizes to Shinji for beating him up (his sister was angry at him for beating him up and demanded he apologize), and the two eventually become friends.[6] During the activation test for Unit-03, the EVA is possessed by the Angel Bardiel and the unit is destroyed by Unit-01 under the control of the Dummy Plug system when Shinji refuses to fight against the possessed EVA out of concern for the pilot. Unit-01 savagely destroys the possessed Evangelion under extreme protest of Shinji, and crushes the pilot's cockpit capsule, crippling Toji. In Rebuild of Evangelion, Toji does not become a pilot; instead, Asuka pilots Unit-03.

Kaworu Nagisa (渚 カヲル,Nagisa Kaoru?) is the Fifth Child, and the seventeenth Angel, Tabris. He is sent to NERV by SEELE as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka's synchronization ratio falls below viability; however, his true purpose is to hasten the Human Instrumentality Project's implementation. He breaks into Terminal Dogma to return to Adam and initiate the Third Impact, but upon discovering that the being there is actually Lilith, he implores Shinji to destroy him.[7] After his death, Kaworu appears in the beginning and middle of Third Impact in The End of Evangelion.

She is the confident and eccentric pilot of the Provisional Evangelion Unit-05, which differs drastically from previous incarnations, featuring four mechanical "legs" that end in wheels and a lack of hands which have been replaced with a jousting lance and "claw". It also is worth noting she appears several years older than the other Children. Because of its unique design, Mari pilots her Eva wearing a helmet-like contraption, and the wrists of her plugsuit have several attachments that connect to tubing that apparently helps her in moving the EVA. Even while piloting Unit-02, her pink plugsuit features a symbolized 5 on the back. She has poor vision, wearing glasses at all times and having difficulty finding them when dropped after colliding with Shinji while parachuting. Mari's designation amongst the other Children is mysterious, though she is once referred to as "Problem Child". She self-destructs Unit-05 to defeat one of the Angels in the film's opening, but manages to escape unharmed. During the film's climax, she uses Unit-02 to battle the 10th Angel but is unable to, she sees Shinji who, after seeing the destruction, runs to NERV HQ. She has a fondness for LCL, telling Shinji, "You smell good... Smell of LCL." She also differs from the other pilots as she takes things in great strides as a pilot, even the immense pains of being attacked while synced with an EVA, falling on Shinji while using a parachute, smiling when the 3rd impact seems inevitable, and even singing a song in Unit-05 when about to fight an Angel. Since Toji did not pilot an Eva in the Rebuild series, Mari is sometimes referred to as the "Fourth Child" of the series by fans, but this has not been referenced in official material.

Sadamoto designed her to look British, and added glasses as a 'simple yet effective way to set her apart from the other characters'[18] The June 2010 issue of Newtype magazine ranked Mari #1 in its monthly top-10-character survey.

In the last volume of the Evangelion Manga, an extra chapter titled "Eden in Summer" introduces her as a 16-year-old student in 1998. She knew Yui Ikari and Ritsuko as a fellow student under Professor Fuyutsuki. It appears she's a genius, having arrived at Kyoto University at an early age. However, she is no match for Yui Ikari's brilliance and is very jealous of her. In a fit of jealousy, she steals Yui's glasses. Later on, while helping Yui clean up a mess caused by her impaired vision, her purse falls to the floor revealing the missing glasses. At first Mari tells Yui she hates her, but once she calms down she actually admits she likes Yui. She allows Yui to fix her hair and tells her that she will leave to study abroad in England. Yui then gives her the glasses as a gift and finishes fixing Mari's hair, which is how she continues to wear it through the Eva movies.

Based on her age in 1998, she would be in her mid-thirties during the events prior to Third Impact.

Gendo Ikari (碇 ゲンドウ,Ikari Gendō?) is the commander of NERV (ネルフ,Nerufu?) who is responsible for the research done on the Evas, Rei Ayanami, and the Human Instrumentality Project. He is the father of the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, and the guardian of Rei. His original surname was Rokubungi (六分儀), but he changed it to Ikari following his marriage to Yui.[19] At the start of the series, he is the only person having an effective connection to Rei.[9] As the series progresses, his unscrupulous past is revealed, as is the intensity with which he loved Yui. It is later revealed that he wished to use the Human Instrumentality Project as a means of reuniting with his wife inside Unit 01, where all human consciousness would be merged into one, with the initiator of the project becoming god-like.

Kozo Fuyutsuki[2](冬月 コウゾウ,Fuyutsuki Kōzō?) is NERV's Deputy Commander and Gendo Ikari's right-hand man. He does not especially like Gendo, but he is the closest thing to a confidant that Gendo has in the series.

Once a professor of metaphysicalbiology at Kyoto University, Fuyutsuki became interested in the research and theories undertaken by Yui Ikari, and became her sponsor and mentor. Shortly thereafter, he was directed by his superiors to initiate a similar arrangement with Gendo Rokobungi. Later, after the Second Impact, Fuyutsuki traveled with Gendo to the ruins of Antarctica, and began to suspect that Gendo and his associates in SEELE (ゼーレ,Zēre?) were more powerful and dangerous than he originally realized. In 2003, Fuyutsuki discovered for himself the true nature of the events leading up to Second Impact and SEELE's involvement in initiating that catastrophe. Gendo led him into the GeoFront and Central Dogma, and asked Fuyutsuki to join him in "creating a new future for mankind."

During a flashback scene in The End of Evangelion, Fuyutsuki mentions that SEELE had threatened to make him "disappear," implying that his recruitment may have been extortionary.[19] Although Fuyutsuki was never more than a mentor and friend to Yui, it is implied that he was in love with her to some degree, as he was shocked to learn that she was marrying Gendo. In The End of Evangelion Lilith/Rei takes the form of Yui to achieve Fuyutsuki's Instrumentality.[20]

Misato Katsuragi (葛城 ミサト,Katsuragi Misato?) is the chief operations officer at NERV. In the series, she initially holds the rank of Captain, with a later promotion to Major;[21] in the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie, she holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel in the second movie. She is the field commander for the Eva pilots, issuing orders and giving battle strategies as well as handling some bureaucratic matters. She is also Shinji and Asuka's guardian,;[22] letting them live in her apartment rather than have them live alone. While she is professional and diligent in her duties, she is a slob and a drunkard while off-duty. She is the only survivor of the Katsuragi Expedition, the scientific study led by her father which triggered the Second Impact; the cross pendant she wears was given to her by her father just before his death.[19] She and Ryoji Kaji were lovers during college, and slowly rekindle their romance over the course of the TV series.[15]

She also drives an Alpine A310 V6, which serves as her personal vehicle.

Ritsuko Akagi (赤木 リツコ,Akagi Ritsuko?) is NERV's head scientist and, along with Gendo and Fuyutsuki, is the only person at NERV fully aware of the Evas' true nature and the purpose of the Instrumentality Project. She is a workaholic and heavy smoker, and has been friends with both Misato and Kaji since college.[19] She is also romantically involved with Gendo,[7] but feels betrayed by Gendo when she realizes that he was using her in the same way that he used her mother. As revenge, she destroys the Dummy Plug system and is shot dead in The End of Evangelion, when she tries and fails to activate NERV's self-destruct mechanism to stop Gendo from initiating Third Impact.

Ryoji Kaji (加持 リョウジ,Kaji Ryōji?) appears to be a triple agent, working as the chief inspection officer for NERV (Internal Affairs) while secretly investigating NERV for the Japanese government, and at times seemingly acting as a cat's-paw both for and against Gendo Ikari and SEELE - in addition, he appears to have his own personal agenda independent of any organization, searching for the "truth" behind NERV, SEELE and the Human Instrumentality Project. During college, he and Misato were lovers, but broke up at Misato's insistence. Years later, they are reunited on the UN fleet ferrying Unit 02 and Asuka to Japan.[13] After he returns to NERV headquarters, Kaji and Misato rekindle their romance following a period of teasing and insults, when Misato confesses that she broke up with him because she realized that he reminded her of her father. He is eventually shot and killed by an unnamed assailant after defying his employers one time too many,[23] but not before giving Misato information regarding the truth of the Instrumentality Project.

Makoto Hyuga[2](日向 マコト,Hyūga Makoto?) is a First Lieutenant at NERV and one of the three main computer technicians directly serving under Commanders Ikari and Fuyutsuki in the command post of Central Dogma, the others being Aoba and Ibuki. Hyuga at first gives the impression of being something of a nerd, reading manga while on his break time, but is a highly skilled technician. His quick thinking and bravery help save NERV headquarters from the attack by Matariel, and he acts as a spy for Misato, helping her obtain information regarding NERV's machinations. The true extent of his feelings for Misato is shown in The End of Evangelion as Rei/Lilith takes the form of Misato during Instrumentality and passionately kisses him; he gets reverted to LCL.[20]

Maya Ibuki[2](伊吹 マヤ,Ibuki Maya?) is a First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician who works primarily with Ritsuko Akagi. Her main role during the battles against the Angels is to constantly monitor the Eva pilots’ synchronization ratios and send various emergency commands to the Evas as ordered by Misato or Gendo. In spite of her profession, Maya despises violence of any sort, and is frequently shown becoming nauseated and averting her eyes during battles with the Angels. In The End of Evangelion, Maya is the only NERV officer who is shown refusing to fight back against the JSSDF invaders. Maya holds Ritsuko in very high regard, and always refers to her as "senpai" in the original anime; The End of Evangelion heavily implies that Maya is actually in love with Ritsuko. Rei/Lilith penetrates Maya's AT field by assuming the form of Ritsuko. Maya exclaims "Ritsuko!/Senpai!", eagerly returns "Ritsuko"'s embrace, and immediately gets reverted to LCL.[20]

Shigeru Aoba[2](青葉 シゲル,Aoba Shigeru?) is a First Lieutenant at NERV and a computer technician. At times a stereotypical metalhead, he is a cynical nihilist and plays guitar (he can also sometimes be seen playing air guitar). Of the three technicians seen regularly in Central Dogma, his character is explored the least in the series. In The End of Evangelion, during Instrumentality, Rei/Lilith appears to him not as any loved one but rather as a bombardment of Reis which forces their way through his AT Field while he cowers and screams in horror under his desk.[20]

Naoko Akagi[2](赤木 ナオコ,Akagi Naoko?) was Ritsuko's mother. She was the creator of the MAGI system[24] and the former GEHIRN (ゲへリン,Geherin?) head technician. Naoko was involved in a romantic relationship with the recently widowed Gendo Ikari while working at GEHIRN. However, after Rei I called her an "old hag" and said that Gendo himself called Naoko that frequently, she realized that he had merely been using her affections to ensure her performance for him. In a fit of rage, Naoko strangled Rei to death and then committed suicide.[19] Soon afterward, GEHIRN was disbanded and the organization NERV was formed in its place. In vol. 10 of the manga, Naoko is shown to commit suicide after killing Rei I. Ritsuko witnesses both Rei's murder and Naoko's suicide.

Yui Ikari (碇 ユイ,Ikari Yui?) was a student of genetic engineering at Kyoto University, where she met her future husband Gendo and her mentor and trusted friend Kozo Fuyutsuki. Afterwards, she joined the UN Artificial Evolution Laboratory (the future GEHIRN) in Hakone, Japan, and played an integral role in the E Project. She served as the test subject for the Contact Experiment of Unit 01 in 2004, but "disappeared" during testing.[19] Though proclaimed dead, a part of her (her "soul") lives on within Unit 01.[25]

The final volume of the Evangelion Manga reveals that Yui had made a conscious choice to remain with EVA unit 01 during the test that caused her disappearance. She confided her choice only to Fuyutsuki days prior to the test happening and made him promise never to reveal it to Gendo.

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu[2](惣流・キョウコ・ツェッペリン,Sōryū Kyōko Tsepperin?), Asuka's mother, was a key scientist in the German division of GEHIRN (what would later become NERV's Third Branch) and the development of Unit 02, the first Production Type (the second and third of which were later produced by the two American branches of NERV). She was the subject of the Contact Experiment with Unit 02, but during the experiment her soul bonded with the EVA, causing severe mental damage to Kyoko. She became mentally unstable, believing that one of Asuka's dolls was her daughter.[14] She was admitted to a mental institution shortly after the experiment. Her husband had an affair with Kyoko's own doctor, which eventually prompted Kyoko's suicide in 2005.

In the manga version, Kyoko and her husband were unable to conceive a child, and divorced after he had an affair. He remarried and had a daughter, while Kyoko visited a sperm bank and became pregnant. She tried to poison Asuka to spite her ex-husband and his other child, referring to Asuka coldly as "that girl." At one point, Kyoko tried to strangle Asuka. After the failed contact experiment, her violence was instead transferred to Asuka's doll, as she was clearly in a dissociative state from the trauma. In the Rebuild of Evangelion movies, however, her story is omitted.

According to Anno's notes on the origins of his characters' names,[26] "Soryu" is from the same Japanese warship as Asuka, "Kyoko" is also from a character in Shinji Wada's manga (Chou-Shoujo Asuka), and "Zeppelin" is from a warship of the German navy that was envisioned but never made (named after Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and aircraft manufacturer).

WILLE (ヴィレ,Vire?) is an organization introduced with five new characters in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, as a successor to NERV and with the goal to destroy NERV's EVA units. The organization is led by Misato Katsuragi and includes most of NERV's adult staff, with the notable exclusions of Gendo and Fuyutsuki.

Though they all have very different forms and abilities, Angels are often depicted with several common elements, such as the ability to project AT fields and an internal power source called an S² engine, the destruction of which is often the only way an Angel can be exterminated. Even though they are composed of an altogether different form of matter ("characterized by both particulate and wave properties, like light"), the Angels' genetic code bears a 99.89% similarity to that of humans.[27]

The first two Angels, Adam and Lilith, are the progenitors of the other sixteen.[28] While the first fifteen Angels are descendants of Adam, humans themselves descended from Lilith. Using the Biblical story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Angels are described as having eaten the "Fruit of Life", giving them immortality.[29] At another point, it is stated that the Angels are merely different evolutionary paths that mankind could have taken.

While the original Japanese word used in the series to refer to the Angels is shito(使徒?, apostle or disciple), as opposed to the typical translation of "angel" as tenshi(天使?, messenger of heaven), the English translation was one specified by Gainax. The word "angel" itself is derived from the Greek for "messenger" (ἄγγελος, angelos), which is also the source of the word "Evangelion".

Adam is discovered within the White Moon buried under Antarctica and, during the Katsuragi Expedition, is subjected to a "contact experiment" with the Spear of Longinus. The failure of the experiment results in the brief appearance of a "giant of light" (resembling an Evangelion), the occurrence of Second Impact, and Adam being reduced to an embryonic form while its soul is reincarnated in Kaworu Nagisa. Ryoji Kaji later delivers the embryonic Adam to NERV commander Gendo Ikari, who later grafts it to his right palm and, in The End of Evangelion, tries to physically merge Rei with Adam by pushing his right hand into her body.

Cells cultivated from Adam serve as the basis for all Evangelion units except for Unit-01, which is grown from cells cultivated from Lilith.[32] In Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's official manga of Evangelion, Gendo swallows the embryonic Adam and gains the ability to manifest an AT field.

The second Angel is Lilith(リリス,Ririsu),[33] named for the first wife of Adam created in Jewish-oriented mythologies (while not Judaism proper). Lilith is discovered in the Black Moon underneath Japan, which is converted into the GeoFront, with Lilith's resting place being called the Terminal Dogma. After Yui Ikari's contact experiment with Unit-01, Lilith's soul was placed into Rei Ayanami.

Lilith initially appears in the series as a white legless giant with the waists and legs of small humanoid bodies emerging from the stump of its waist. It is crucified onto a giant cross and wearing a mask with three eyes on the right side and four eyes on the left, the same motif as the Seele logo. Lilith's torso constantly leaks LCL, an amber-colored, translucent liquid, which allows an Eva pilot to mentally link with their Evangelion Unit,[34] from an unseen wound, forming a vast reservoir used to supply its use in the Evangelion entry plugs. In the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2, it is stated that the Spear of Longinus used to hold Lilith was originally created for Adam, Lilith's own assigned Spear presumably having been lost during First Impact. When Kaji revealed Lilith to Misato Katsuragi, both assume they are in fact looking at Adam (Kaworu first correctly identifies Lilith).

In The End of Evangelion, after Rei rejects Gendo's attempt to initiate his version of Instrumentality using the grafted embryonic Adam, Rei and the absorbed embryo merge with Lilith. The resultant being, taking the form of a giant winged Rei, generates a massive anti-AT field that nullifies the AT fields of all humans, reverting them to a primordial soup.

Sachiel(サキエル,Sakieru),[35] the third Angel, is the first Angel to attack Tokyo-3. It is a massive, humanoid creature with large bony structures on its shoulders and torso, gill-like structures on its legs, tridactyl hands, and a distinctive beaked face (a second face, behind and slightly to the side of the first one, is generated after an N² weapon is dropped on the Angel). It has a powerful long-range energy blast, which distinctly forms a Christian cross on detonation, and two sharp spikes which slide through its arms and extend through holes in its palms as striking weapons (when retracted, the spikes extend from the Angel's elbows) Its core is located prominently on its chest. Its eyes are not simple holes in its skull, but are surprisingly expressive (during the attack by the UN military forces, we can clearly see them blink).

After easily defeating the UN military forces sent to attack it, Sachiel was briefly stopped by an N² bomb, from which it quickly recovered. It then fought Unit 01, in Shinji Ikari's first battle against an Angel. Initially, Sachiel defeated Unit 01, driving a spike through the Eva's head. However, the Eva went "berserk", re-engaged Sachiel, and inflicted massive damage to the Angel's core with a broken piece of one of Sachiel's ribs. The Angel then attached itself to Unit 01 and self-destructed, but failed to destroy Unit 01.[36]

Sachiel demonstrates regenerative abilities, recovering from an N² bomb in a matter of hours. The Angel also seems to have a limited ability to alter its own body structure, as demonstrated when it bulges its arm muscles to stop a missile, when it snaps Unit 01's arm, and when it partly envelops Unit 01 and self-destructs.

It is named after the Angel of Water (水の天使,Mizu no Tenshi).[citation needed] Both forms of Sachiel's bird-like face are used in Neon Genesis Evangelion merchandise.[37] In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Lilith in Central Dogma and the Angel Shamshel are depicted with Sachiel-like masks.[38] In Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, after enveloping Unit 01, Sachiel explodes into LCL before self-destructing. It is also designated as the fourth Angel instead of the third.

The fourth Angel, Shamshel(シャムシェル,Shamusheru),[35][40] is a massive, arthropod-like creature, with a long cylindrical body, a shovel-shaped head with two eyespot-like markings (but are not eyes[41]), and eight retractable segmented limbs. It also has two short "arms" that project energy whips, which can slice through objects and manipulate them. Shamshel remains horizontal during flight; during combat it raises itself upright by 90 degrees, with the "head" remaining parallel to the ground. Its core is located under its "throat".

Shamshel was engaged by Shinji in Unit 01. During the battle, Unit 01's umbilical cable was severed by Shamshel's energy whips, and Shinji had to fight the Angel on battery power. Ignoring orders to retreat, Shinji inflicted a fatal wound to the Angel’s core using Unit 01’s progressive knife, killing it seconds before Unit 01's batteries expired. The minimal damage to Shamshel allowed NERV to obtain a near-complete Angel specimen, although no report was ever submitted or published. NERV was able to recover the Angel's S² engine, which the Third Branch would later attempt to install in Unit 04.[citation needed]

It is named after the Angel of the Morning (昼の天使,Hiru no Tenshi),[citation needed] charged with guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden, or 'the angel of daytime'[41] Shamshel's name is misspelled as "Shamsel" during Seele's recollection of the Angel attacks up to Armisael in episode 23. In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Shamshel has been redesigned: the segmented limbs under its head appear to be mobile rib-like structures connected to what resembles an exposed spine. It also has a small bone mask similar to Sachiel's over its head. Shamshel collapsed into LCL when it died. The whip arms turned solid and were the only part of Shamshel to remain. It has also been designated as the fifth Angel instead of the fourth. Shamshel's character designer, Yoshitoh Asari, depicts the Angel as female in omake comics called "Angel Kiss".[42] One of the omake was included in the bonus materials in volume 2 of the official manga.

The fifth Angel, Ramiel(ラミエル,Ramieru),[35] is a hollow, translucent blue octahedron. Ramiel defends itself with a proton particle beam that automatically targets any hostile object within a certain radius or any direct threat outside of it. It also bears an AT field that visibly warps light passing through it[43] and is surrounded by a noise that sounds like female choral music. It extends a drill bit from an opening on its bottom apex and attempts to bore through the armor above the GeoFront, in the first credible attempt to reach Terminal Dogma. Despite being one of the most powerful and formidable Angels, Ramiel is very passive in nature, using a slowly moving drill to bore into the GeoFront while using its deadly energy attacks only for defensive purposes. Ramiel's core is not shown, but it is implied to be deep within the Angel's body. Rebuild of Evangelion reveals Ramiel's core is at the center of its body.

Ramiel was defeated by Rei and Shinji in a coordinated assault (the two pilots' first operation together). The overall plan was named Yashima (ヤシマ作戦). Shinji in Unit 01 was armed with an experimental positron cannon to shoot the Angel from a distance, Rei in Unit 00 was equipped with a special shield (allegedly a thermal protection shield from a decommissioned Space Shuttle) to defend Unit 01. The positron cannon needed all the power from Japan to operate and the shield could only deflect the particle beam for 17 seconds. When Shinji fired, Ramiel reacted and fired at the same time. The two beams met each other, warping each other and causing both to miss. Ramiel fired a second shot before the positron cannon could fully recharge; Rei blocked the beam, first with the shield and then with Unit 00 itself after the shield was destroyed. This bought Shinji enough time to fire a second shot after the cannon recharged, which passed through Ramiel's center and killed it. Like Shamshel, Ramiel's corpse remained intact and was shown over the next several episodes being gradually deconstructed.

It is named after the Angel of Thunder (雷の天使,Kaminari no Tenshi)[citation needed][43] and divine visions, who guides the souls of the faithful to Heaven.[citation needed] In the Rebuild of Evangelion series, Ramiel has been changed significantly: it retains its original octahedral shape when acting passively, but when attacking or defending, it morphs into symmetrical arrangements of multiple geometric shapes, with different configurations for different situations. Its drill bit is also morphed out of its substance. Additionally, it moved its core when Shinji fired at it instead of firing at Shinji at the exact moment he fired at Ramiel, but it is destroyed when Shinji fired a second shot. It also retains the noise that sounds like female choral music, but it emits screams when it attacks and is damaged and is classified as the sixth Angel instead of the fifth.

In Rebuild of Evangelion (specifically, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone), Ramiel is depicted as being the 3rd-dimensional cross section of an object in a higher dimension. This results in the angel's ability to appear to rotate through itself before firing its particle beam, and possibly in the way its drill penetrates the earth above NERV headquarters so smoothly.[citation needed]

The sixth Angel, Gaghiel(ガギエル,Gagieru),[35][44] is an aquatic being with a massive body and long jaws filled with sharp teeth. It also has a small "face" similar to Sachiel's on its forehead, and its core is located in its mouth. It can use parts of its body to slice objects such as warships. Unlike the preceding Angels, it does not generate a visible AT field, though it seems to have a tough hide conventional weapons are inefficient against, as the fleet unseccessfully tried to fight back the Angel with torpedoes and missiles (its core and inner parts are somehow more vulnerable, since it died "exploded from the inside" by the firing battleship).

Gaghiel attacked the UN Pacific fleet as it was delivering Unit 02 and (secretly) the preserved embryonic Adam to NERV. Gaghiel was searching for the Adam embryo, but because the presence of the embryo was secret (apparently even from Seele), NERV officially reported that Gaghiel was drawn by Unit 02. It managed to damage or destroy almost one third of the UN's combined fleet.

Gaghiel fought with Unit 02, piloted jointly by Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari in their first battle together. Asuka brashly challenges Gaghiel in Unit 02 wearing only B-type equipment (unsuited for marine combat). A miscalculation by Asuka makes Unit 02 step onto a flight deck elevator which collapses, throwing the Eva and the Angel into the water, where Asuka and Shinji find themselves immobilized. The Angel bites down on them, trapping them in its jaws. Misato hatches a plan, and Unit 02 forces the Angel's mouth open (though only with Asuka and Shinji working and thinking in unison), allowing a pair of scuttled Iowa-classbattleships (the Illinois and Kentucky) to lodge in its mouth (knocking out most of its teeth in the process) and fire (via remote control) at the Angel's core, then self-destruct inside the Angel, killing it.

It is named after the Angel of the Fish (魚の天使,Sakana no Tenshi).[citation needed] In the manga, Gaghiel's appearance is limited to a video shown to Misato, Rei, and Shinji by Ritsuko Akagi, showing Unit 02 (piloted just by Asuka) engaging the Angel and inflicting massive damage with its progressive knife, and it is stated that the Angel was destroyed soon after that. Gaghiel does not appear in Rebuild of Evangelion series.

The seventh Angel, Israfel(イスラフェル,Isuraferu),[35] has the appearance of a massive, humanoid creature, similar to Sachiel. Israfel has a face/mask, reminiscent of Sachiel's, which resembles a yin-yang symbol, and has a pair of razor sharp claws and can shoot an energy beam. It has two cores located in its chest, matched on either side of its center torso by four external bone-like rib structures.

Israfel has the ability to split itself into separate, twin Angels, referred to as "Alpha" and "Beta". The twin Angels are almost identical in appearance and properties to the original except in color scheme. Both have masks with three eye holes and possess their own cores, but without the rib structures. Both cores must be destroyed at the same time, or they will heal each other.

After emerging from the ocean, Israfel was engaged by Asuka and Shinji. Defying orders to attack in synch with Shinji, Asuka assaulted the Angel alone, cleaving it in two. Shocking everyone, Israfel split into its twins, and decisively defeated Asuka and Shinji. To NERV's embarrassment, the UN Secondary Command was allowed to take over the battle, and an N² bomb was dropped on the Angel, vaporizing 28% of its mass. The Angel was incapacitated for roughly six days, during which time it recovered from its injuries. Israfel was defeated through a synchronized attack by Shinji and Asuka, concerted via a musical score and with the memorization of numerous dance moves, first forcing the Angel to split into its twins, then back into its singular mode, this time with the two cores exposed which were destroyed simultaneously.

Israfil is named after the twin Angels of Poetry, Music and Dance (音楽の天使,Ongaku no Tenshi).[citation needed][45] In the manga, Israfel remains split into its "twins" after it initially divides. Israfel does not appear in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

The eighth Angel, Sandalphon(サンダルフォン,Sandarufon),[35][46] is similar in form to an Anomalocaris, but with hands on its arm-like appendages and two humanoid eyes on the left front of its head. It appears to have no abilities beyond its extraordinary resistance to heat and pressure, up to the point of being able to open its mouth in magma. Its own AT field never manifested physically.

Sandalphon was discovered in an embryonic state[47] deep inside the Mount Asamavolcano. NERV was determined to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to strike first against an Angel. Asuka, in Unit 02, was sent to capture the Angel using a special electromagnetic cage. The Eva's normal B-type equipment was not designed for extreme environments, so Unit 02 was equipped with the D-type Equipment, specifically designed for extreme conditions like magma. During the operation the Angel awoke, rapidly developed into its adult form, and attacked Unit 02, damaging it, however Unit 02 could not take any countermeasure due to the fact that it had lost its progressive knife earlier from the pressure of the lava (It was sent over the depth limit of the D-type equipment). Sandalphon was defeated by Asuka using the D-type equipment's coolant (inspired by an earlier conversation with Shinji regarding thermal expansion) and Unit 01's progressive knife.

Is named after the Angel of Embryos (胎児の天使,Taiji no Tenshi).[citation needed] Sandalphon did not appear in the manga adaptation nor in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

The ninth Angel, Matarael(マトリエル,Matorieru),[35][48] has the appearance of a massive opilionid-like creature with numerous eyes. The central eye on the underbelly secretes a strong solvent which can easily melt through both concrete and steel. The Angel attempts to burn a tunnel directly into the Geofront using the solvent. The Angel appears to possess no armament beyond this solvent, and its AT field never physically manifests, though the battle plan against it made mention of using Unit 02 to nullify its AT field before it would be fired upon. Matariel's core is not revealed.

Matariel emerged from the ocean during a near-total power outage in Tokyo-3 (caused by an unnamed individual or party). It was defeated through the coordinated efforts of Units 00, 01, and 02, in the first simultaneous deployment of all three Evas. Due to the power outage, the Evas ran on their internal batteries, supplemented by large additional batteries mounted to the shoulder boxes, and had to be launched manually. The Angel was killed using standard-issue Eva firearms, the only successful attempt at doing so.

It is named after the Angel of Rain (雨の天使,Ame no Tenshi).[49] Matarael did not appear in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance or the manga adaptation of Evangelion, though in the latter case the power outage which preceded its appearance still occurred.

The tenth Angel, Sahaquiel(サハクィエル,Sahakwieru),[35] is a massive and bizarrely-shaped creature. It has an elongated body, with three eye-like markings (one in the center and one on either end of the body), and three stem-like growths projecting radially at both ends. Sahaquiel's AT field is comparatively powerful, able to shield the Angel from several N² bombs. It also seems to have an ability to jam satellite communications. The Angel's most devastating weapon is itself: utilizing both kinetic energy and its AT field, it drops pieces of itself onto Earth as bombs. Its core appears as the pupil of the central "eye".

Sahaquiel first appeared in low-earth orbit. The Angel's jamming ability prevented NERV HQ from contacting Commander Ikari or Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki in Antarctica. When NERV attempted to analyze the Angel, it crushed the scanning satellites with its AT field (although they were able to complete the scan). Attempts to destroy the Angel using N² bombs utterly failed. The Angel began dropping pieces of itself onto Earth. The first hit landed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (far from Tokyo-III) but with each successive hit the Angel's aim improved. For the final blow, the attack that would land on NERV proper, Sahaquiel intended to drop its entire body onto Tokyo-III. The resulting blast would have been so powerful that Tokyo-III would have been transformed into an extension of the Pacific Ocean.

Sahaquiel was intercepted and killed through the combined efforts of all three Evas. Eva 01 first stopped the Angel's physical descent by "catching" it as it fell, then as all three Evas held it off the ground, Eva 00 canceled out its AT field, negating both of its main means of attack and then Eva 02 killed the Angel by stabbing its core with a Progressive Knife.

It is named after the Angel of the Skies. (空の天使,Sora no Tenshi).[citation needed] In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, it is redesigned with various stages. It starts out in space as a giant ball surrounded by a black membrane with moving eye spots. Then when it is about to land, it sheds the membrane and shape-shifts to resemble its anime counterpart, only this version is larger and has small, sharp spikes trailing it. When Shinji uses EVA-01's AT field to stop its descent, a body resembling Sachiel morphs out of the central eye and attacks Shinji with arms that turned into drills. The Angel then starts to propel itself towards the ground with an increasing amount of thrust, forcing Shinji to struggle to hold the Angel off the ground and pushing EVA-01 to its breaking point. The Angel's core is also on the edge of the central eye and moved around the edge to avoids attacks from Asuka in EVA-02 until Rei in EVA-00 is able to physically grab hold of it and stop it (greatly hurting herself in the process). Asuka then had to stab the core with two knives (and force one of them deeper into the core) to destroy it causing Sahaquiel to explode into a massive geyser of blood and floods a great portion of the city. It is designated as the 8th Angel in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

The eleventh Angel, Ireul(イロウル,Irouru),[35] is a nano-scale entity, similar to a virus. In addition to its AT field, it demonstrates an ability to adapt and evolve to almost anything. Rather than "moving" in the conventional sense, the Angel seems to simply spread by rapidly reproducing at the cellular level. It is not known whether or not Ireul has a core.

It appears in the Pribnow Box deep in the GeoFront, where it is initially mistaken for corrosion before spreading to where the pilots are taking part in tests. Ritsuko and Misato, prior to understanding what they were up against, attempted to destroy the "corrosion" with lasers, only to have an AT field materialize to block their efforts. They soon discovered that the Angel is vulnerable to ozone and so pumped large amounts of it into the area of infection. The tactic temporarily stopped the Angel's spread, but after only a few seconds, it adapted to the ozone, and even absorbed it to increase its strength before suddenly mutating into a form resembling electronic circuitry. Linked into the Pribnow Box computer systems, the Angel electronically hacked into the MAGI computer systems, protecting the hard connections with an AT field on the cables to prevent it from being cut off. While inside, it read many critical files and attempted to initiate a self-destruct sequence before being slowed down long enough by Ritsuko to allow her in turn to initiate the Angel's destruction by using the last "free" MAGI to set the Angel on an evolutionary path to its own annihilation.

It is named after the Angel of Terror (恐怖の天使,Kyōfu no Tenshi).[49] Ireul did not appear in the manga, nor does it appear in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

The twelfth Angel, Leliel(レリエル,Rerieru),[35] has a misleading appearance and possesses bizarre properties and powers. The Angel initially appears as a large, floating, black-and-white patterned sphere, and, when attacked, it re-manifests as a large black shadow. The Angel's true body is the shadow itself, and the "shadow" of the Angel is the floating sphere, this makes this Angel one of the most difficult to combat as it is impossible to attack a virtually 2-D creature. Leliel is explained as possessing an inverted AT field, which allows the Angel to take into itself anything in range of its shadow-like body, but keeping it contained. (An analogy would be a two-way mirror.) Within the inverted AT field is a Dirac sea, which "could lead to another universe". At its fullest extension, the Angel's body is 680 meters in diameter and 3 nanometers thick. It is unknown whether Leliel had a core.

Leliel appeared out of thin air over Tokyo-3, and all three Evas were sortied against it. Shinji, in Unit 01, impulsively fired upon the Angel's spherical "body", which vanished before his shots hit it. Immediately after the "body" disappeared, a shadow appeared under Unit 01's feet, absorbing both the Eva and a substantial portion of Tokyo-III. Unit 01 was cut off from all power and communication. Once NERV realized the properties of the Angel, in order to kill it, they planned to drop the 992 remaining N² bombs into the Angel while Units 00 and 02 negated its AT field, in spite of the possibility of losing Shinji in process. Within the pocket dimension, Shinji experienced a bizarre sort of self-psychoanalysis (speculated by Seele to be an attempt by the Angel to establish contact with a human), including meeting a younger version of himself, wearing a striped shirt pattern that matched Leliel's floating sphere "shadow". Kazuya Tsurumaki, Assistant Director, states this is intended to be Leliel speaking with Shinji. Moments before dropping the N² mines into Leliel, Unit 01, out of battery power at this point, entered Berserker mode and tore its way out of the dimension, shattering its 2-dimensional body. The spherical shadow released torrents of blood as Unit 01 emerged.

It is named after the Angel of the Night (夜の天使,Yoru no Tenshi).[citation needed] Leliel did not appear in the manga nor in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. The younger Shinji does appear during Shinji's self-psychoanalysis train ride. This can be connected with the Eighth Angel Bardiel's attempt to contaminate Unit-01.

The thirteenth Angel, Bardiel(バルディエル,Barudieru),[35] inhabits Unit 03. It possesses all the properties and strengths of Unit 03, and it can also stretch the Eva's arms to a distance roughly equal to the Eva's height. The Angel's core is never shown, but, given that it has taken over Unit 03, and the Evangelions all have cores, it can be assumed to possess Unit 03's core.

Bardiel initially appeared in a cloud, infecting Unit 03 as it passed through in the process of being transported from the USA to Japan. It is unknown if the Angel was hidden within the cloud or if it was the cloud itself. The Angel revealed itself during the activation test at the Matsushiro facility, at the instant the "Absolute Borderline" (the point in startup where a pilot interfaces with an Eva) was reached. Despite a quick cutoff of the external power cable, the Angel apparently had generated an S² engine capable of powering Unit 03, completely taking over the Eva and destroying the base in a huge detonation detected back at NERV HQ. Responding to the explosion and detection of an unidentified object, NERV sortied all three Evas against it. Seeing that the Angel was an Eva, the pilots hesitated. Bardiel defeated Asuka in Unit 02 almost immediately. Rei, considering the pilot inside the possessed Eva, did not respond to orders to attack fast enough, and was attacked and disabled by the Angel, which attempted to "fuse" with Unit 00. Commander Ikari ordered the infected portion of her Eva cut off, throwing Bardiel away in the explosion and paralyzing Rei's left arm. The Angel then focused on Shinji. During the assault, Shinji was able to see that the Eva's entry plug was still inside the Angel. Even as Bardiel attacked Unit 01, using its extendable arms for the first time, Shinji refused to fight back, refusing to harm the trapped Eva pilot. Gendo ordered Shinji cut off from Unit 01 and the Dummy Plug (or Dummy System in Evangelion: 2.0) to be activated. Under the Dummy Plug's control, Unit 01 broke Bardiel's neck and literally tore it to shreds, only stopping once Unit 03's entry plug — with Toji Suzuhara inside it — was crushed in its hand.

Seele specifically mentions the thirteenth Angel during their interrogation of Misato regarding the twelfth Angel.[50] No reasons are given in the series for this mention. However, the twelfth, thirteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth angels all contacted an EVA.

It is named after the Angel of Haze (霞の天使,Kasumi no Tenshi).[49] In the manga, Shinji is aware before the battle that Toji is inside Unit 03, unlike in the anime where he knew there was a pilot inside but does not discover that it was Toji until after the battle, seeing him being carried out of the wreckage of the entry plug. Additionally, Toji is actually killed when Unit 01 crushes Unit 03's entry plug, while in the anime he survives but is severely injured.

In the manga, Gendo refers to Bardiel as the eighth Angel. However, even with the omission of some of the anime's Angels, Bardiel should have been referred to as the ninth Angel. In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Bardiel is confirmed as the ninth Angel who infects Unit 03, piloted by Asuka Langley Shikinami (in lieu of Unit 02 being put to storage in accordance to the Vatican Treaty, which allows a country to operate a maximum of three EVA units). This time, the Angel demonstrates a previously unseen ability: when Unit 01 forces the Angel's hands away, it breaks off Unit 03's shoulder fins and grows a second pair of arms. Bardiel suffers the same fate as its anime series incarnation, except the entry plug being crushed in Unit 01's mouth. Asuka survives the ordeal, but is badly wounded and placed in quarantine for fear of mental contamination by the Angel. Bardiel also attempted to contaminate Unit 01 before the link was disconnected and the Dummy Plug activated. The appearance of the younger Shinji during Shinji's self-analysing train ride afterward can point to successful contamination or contact by Bardiel. This is in lieu of an appearance by the Angel Leliel in the Rebuild of Evangelion. Toji escapes any harm in 2.0, instead being reunited with his sister having come through with a healthy recovery.

The fourteenth Angel, Zeruel(ゼルエル,Zerueru),[35] appears as a floating creature as large as the Evas but lacking humanoid limbs, with a malformed "skull" as a face. Zeruel possesses a powerful Angel beam attack which it can fire several times in rapid succession, and folding foil-like arms that it uses as cutting weapons in close-range combat. The arms can breach most materials with relative ease. It also uses these arms to crawl about when it breaks into Central Dogma from the GeoFront. The Angel has a relatively powerful AT field, and its armor-like "skin" is strong enough to endure the point-blank detonation of an N² bomb completely undamaged even without the use of an AT field. All in all, Zeruel is one of the most powerful Angels ever seen. Its core is located on its chest.

Zeruel initially appeared and proceeded to the GeoFront, and, in a demonstration of power, blasted through 18 layers of the GeoFront's armor with a single shot of its beam attack. Inside the GeoFront, the Angel was confronted first by Asuka in Unit 02. Unit 02's artillery attacks from its dual machine guns were completely ineffective, as were a row of spikes from its shoulder extension to damage Zeruel, which proceeded to slice off Unit 02's arms. Rei in Unit 00 then attempted to stop Zeruel in a kamikaze attack using an N² bomb forced through the angel's AT field, but Zeruel covered its core with a protective membrane, which the mine failed to penetrate and struck down Unit 00. Zeruel proceeded to blast through and enter Central Dogma proper (the only Angel to successfully break into the GeoFront by force). Seconds before wiping out the bridge (and everyone in it), the Angel was confronted by Shinji in Unit 01.

During the fight, Shinji used the Eva lift system to launch Unit 01 and Zeruel out of Central Dogma back into the devastated GeoFront. In a fight that cut off Unit 01's main power source and drained its backup power, Zeruel nearly destroyed Unit 01, slicing off its left arm in the process. Before it could land the final blow, Unit 01 went berserk. The Eva unit kicked the Angel away, tearing the arm off and converting it into a new left arm for itself. The Angel then attacked Unit 01 with its remaining arm, which was destroyed by Unit 01's AT field, causing the sharp fragments to rebound and severely wound the Angel. Unit 01 smashed the Angel's face into the ground when it attempted to fire a final beam at it. Unit 01 finished off the crippled Angel and devoured it, ingesting the Angel's S² engine. During the battle, Unit 01 breaks free of its armour.

Zeruel's physical substance seems to change during the fight: early on, its face is hard and durable enough to strike sparks when forced against the Eva lift by Shinji, but following its demise even the apparently rock solid 'skull' on its face becomes limp, and pliable.

It is named after the Angel of Strength (力の天使,Chikara no Tenshi).[citation needed] Zeruel is designated the 10th Angel in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, and its appearance is slightly changed. In the original series, Zeruel's body shape was comparable to a penguin, having a squat cylindrical body with two dangling 'leg' appendages as well as its foil arms. In the rebuild, Zeruel has received a slight makeover. Its body resembles a human torso in shape, and as it descends into the Geofront its body unravels into long, flowing, black cloth-like ribbons. Once inside of the Geofront, it resembles a ghost-like figure, and is capable of rolling its two longest ribbons (which replace the foil-arms) into a barrel-like shape before propelling them outward with great force. While it plays a similar role to its anime counterpart, there are differences to the engagement. Mari is the pilot of Unit 02, not Asuka, and she uses a secret code to release all of Unit 02's limiters and shed its humanity, entering into a controlled berserk state, and Zeruel disables her by dismembering an arm and part of the head as opposed to both arms. Unit 02 also helps Unit 00 break through Zeruel's AT field, ripping through it with its teeth. Zeruel consumes Unit 00 after Rei's Kamikaze attack, and transforms into a gigantic, pale-skinned female humanoid with its misshapen skull-mask trailing long black tendrils resembling hair (at least as long as the new Zeruel is tall) for a head and it uses Unit 00's identification code to disable Central Dogma's defenses. This is the form that Shinji battles, and while the conclusion to the fight is very similar the details and the meaning of the outcome are vastly different from the anime version. Rather than entering a berserk state when his power runs out Shinji drives the Unit 01 to reactivate by force of will, and the Evangelion goes through some kind of angelic apotheosis (manifesting a halo similar to the ones previously seen on some other angels). Shinji also remains conscious for the rest of the fight, consciously controlling and driving the unit in his fight to save Rei. Eva 01 replaces its missing arm with a limb formed out of its own AT field, as opposed to flesh stolen from Zeruel. Rather than devouring Zeruel while ripping it apart, Eva 01 separates Rei and Unit 00's core from Zeruel causing Zeruel's core to burst in the process. The Angel explodes and then reforms itself into a giant replica of Rei, which is then absorbed into Unit 01's core. Unit 01 then began to initiate the Third Impact, changing into a new life form that defied reason, and would have come into existence at the cost of all previous life, but Kaworu's Mark.06 threw a Spear of Cassius through Unit 01 to stop the Third Impact.

The fifteenth Angel, Arael(アラエル,Araeru),[35] has the form of a massive, glowing multi-winged creature. In addition to a conventional AT field, Arael's main weapon appears as a beam of yellow-white light, which penetrates the target's mind to directly attack their psyche (the beam itself is stated to have properties similar to an AT field). The Angel's core is held outside of its body by the appendages on its underbelly.[51]

Arael initially appeared in low-earth orbit, outside of the range of both conventional weapons and the Evangelions. Ignoring orders to serve as Rei's backup, Asuka confronted the Angel alone in Unit 02. Once she targeted the Angel, it used its weapon on her. The psychic attack forced Asuka to relive the horrors of her childhood and deconstruct her social and emotional facade, resulting in mental trauma sufficient to cause her to completely lose synchronization with Unit 02, which became inactive. After a particle beam weapon proved unable to penetrate Arael's AT field at such an extreme range, Gendo ordered Rei, in Unit 00, to use the Spear of Longinus against it (an order that both Misato and Dept. Commander Fuyutsuki took issue with, albeit for different reasons). Rei descended to Terminal Dogma, removed the Spear from Lilith's chest, and, once back at the surface, hurled the Spear at the Angel. The Spear broke through the Angel's AT field and destroyed the Angel, but it escaped Earth's gravity (eventually landing on the moon) and NERV was unable to retrieve it.

It is named after the Angel of the Birds (鳥の天使,Tori no Tenshi).[49] In the anime Asuka suffered no apparent physical aftereffects from the psychic attack, but in the manga she becomes comatose due to mental shock. In the anime, Arael's beam attack is accompanied by the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah.

The sixteenth Angel, Armisael(アルミサエル,Arumisaeru),[35] appears as a large glowing floating torus which may represent a plasmid. In its initial dormant phase, the Angel's body has a double helix structure. During battle, the double helix deconstructs into a single thread, which then lashes out at enemies, utilizing its entire body as a weapon. Its powers are potent enough to pierce the Evas' AT fields.

Armisael appeared, seemingly out of thin air, over the outskirts of Tokyo-3, and Rei in Unit 00 and Asuka in Unit 02 were sortied against it. Once the Evas approached it, Armisael assumed its "combat form". It pierced Unit 00's AT field and core and began to fuse with the Eva. While it was in contact with Unit 00, the Angel also merged with Rei and mentally contacted her, expressing a desire to merge with her and forcing her to feel its pain, which Rei realized was actually loneliness. When ordered to assist Rei, Asuka proved unable to even move her Eva, and was consequently pulled out of the battle. Gendo, apparently desperate to save Rei, ordered Unit 01 out of quarantine (which it had been kept in since the battle with Zeruel) to battle the Angel (an order he had declined to give while Asuka was attacked by Arael). When Unit 01 approached the Angel, it tried to fend him off, and, when that proved only a mixed success, it began to fuse with Unit 01 as well, taking the appearance of Lilith as in "End Of Evangelion". To keep the Angel from fusing with Shinji, Rei reversed her Eva's AT field, pulling the Angel into Unit 00's core. She then self-destructed her Eva, 'killing' her second body and destroying Unit 00, the Angel, and a sizable portion of the Tokyo-3 area.

It is named after the Angel of the Womb (子宮の天使,Shikyū no Tenshi).[citation needed] While merging with Armisael in the Director's Cut and Platinum version (as well as in the manga), Unit 00 is shown growing a fleshy tumorous mass along its back which incorporates the shapes of almost all the previous Angels they have battled. Also, for a moment the Eva raises in the air and turns into an all-white, naked, Rei, that appeared to resemble Lilith, with a halo over her head just prior to exploding.

Tabris(タブリス,Taburisu),[35] the seventeenth and final Angel, holds the form of a human, Kaworu Nagisa. Like the other Angels, he is "born of Adam", although it is implied that he was created by Seele. He contains the soul of Adam, similar to how Rei contains the soul of Lilith. Tabris' AT field is the most powerful ever detected, strong enough to block out "light, magnetism, subatomic particles, everything". He may control any Evangelion unit he wishes, even from outside the entry plug, so long as the soul inhabiting the Eva is dormant. Within the entry plug, he can set his synchronization ratio at any level he wishes. The nature or even the very existence of his core is not revealed.

Tabris, as Kaworu, infiltrated NERV under the pretense of being sent to replace Asuka as Unit 02's pilot. During his stay in Tokyo-3, he formed an extremely close relationship with Shinji. Kaworu later revealed himself as an Angel, seizing control of Unit 02 and descending with it towards Terminal Dogma. Shinji, in Unit 01, was sent to stop him, but was forced to battle Unit 02 while Tabris proceeded to Terminal Dogma. Tabris' AT field manifested during the battle, effectively cutting both of them off from all contact with anyone outside. After he reached Terminal Dogma, Tabris was surprised to discover that the Angel held there was not Adam, but Lilith. Shinji incapacitated Unit 02 and proceeded to try to stop the Angel. Tabris, gripped in Unit 01's hand, stated his unwillingness to destroy mankind by causing Third Impact, and asked Shinji to kill him. Shinji, after a long period of hesitation, crushed the Angel in his Eva's hand.

He is named after the Angel of Free Will and Alternatives (自由の天使,Jiyū no Tenshi).[49] (This naming convention breaks from most of the other Angels in that it uses a Yah theophory, rather than an El theophory.) The back of the DVD containing episodes 24–26 spells his name as "Kaoru". However, in The End of Evangelion, his name is written as "Kaworu" on the Dummy Plugs for the mass-production Evas. Kaworu Nagisa's first appearance in the Rebuild of Evangelion series is shortly after the battle with Ramiel. Unlike in the anime, Kaworu and Shinji do not battle. When the Fourth Impact seems imminent, he reveals himself as an Angel and subsequently sacrifices himself.

The eighteenth Angel, Lilin(リリン,Ririn), is said by Misato in The End of Evangelion to be mankind itself.[52] It is also the name used by Tabris to describe mankind, in reference to their progenitor, Lilith. As Lilith's descendants, the Lilin are endowed with the "Fruit of Wisdom", which is the source of their intelligence and technology. Like the Angels, Lilin also have AT fields, but unlike the Angels who can physically manifest theirs, the AT fields of Lilin are merely what separates each human from all others, creating individual identity.[53] Misato tells Shinji that humans are the eighteenth Angel born from Lilith, not on Earth.

In the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, many of the Angels return along with some differences and new original designs. The order of the Angels have been changed and some Angels that were originally in the anime do not appear in the remake. Most of the angels die differently from in the original version.

Two new unnamed Angels are introduced in Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. The first is the new Third Angel, designed by illustrator Mohiro Kitoh, which appears as a skeleton's spinal column atop a small body with miniature legs and had a bird-like head which contained the Angel's core. The Angel is being studied at NERV's Bethany Base in Russia when it escapes, and is ultimately destroyed by Mari Illustrious Makinami in the Provisional Evangelion Unit 05. Kaji claims that it appears as a skeleton because the NERV scientists performed such extensive tests that what was shown is all that is left of the Angel's body. The second unnamed Angel is the new Seventh Angel, designed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, which appears as a drinking bird-like body made out of floating metal shapes with a large pendulum that holds the Angel's core and two stilt-like double helix legs that freeze water to allow it to walk on the ocean. Its head also has two clock hand-like appendages that can spin to unleash an attack. The Angel is ultimately destroyed by Asuka Langley Shikinami in Evangelion Unit 02. A third unnamed Angel is introduced in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo as the new Twelfth Angel. It was sealed within Mark.06 and was released when Mark.09 decapitates Mark.06, after which the Angel gets absorbed by Unit-13.

Gainax has several other Angels appearing in other Neon Genesis Evangelion titles. In the game Evangelion 2nd Impression, Mayumi Yamagishi is an Angel known as the Insubstantial Angel. Gainax has released a number of tenth-anniversary figurines under the Angel Chromosome XX label. The figurines are designed by Keroro Gunso artist Mine Yoshizaki and are female anthropomorphized versions of several Angels. The packaging for the figurines gives the appearance of being a NERV lab sample, and is marked with a biohazard symbol.[54] Lilith, Sachiel, Zeruel, Armisael, and Tabris are featured under the "Angel-XX" line, as well as a figure called "Code:BE", which is virtually identical to the Lilith figure.[55] Shamshel, Sahaquiel, and Arael are featured under the "Angel-XX: Next" line.[56] Another line, "Angel-XX: nano!", features moe versions of the Lilith, Sachiel, Zeruel, and Tabris figurines, plus a Leliel figure unique to the 'nano' range.[57] Two additional Angels also appear in the Evangelion tabletop roleplaying game. Both are named after figures from the Qur'an, these being Iblis which appears as a turtle-like creature and Baraqijal, a coral-like being with a single enormous eye encased in a gelatinous orb that uses electricity-based attacks. In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku, the Angels are souls made up into a red spherical object called "Core". They can take over the body of a creature but it also kills the soul of the original host.

Keel Lorenz (キール・ローレンツ,Kīru Rōrentsu?)[2] is the leader of SEELE, represented as SEELE 01 in the monoliths and the main antagonist of the series. Among his most defining characteristics are his ancient appearance and the futuristic visor that he wears throughout the series. Little is revealed about him in the series, but he is believed to hold great political power in the UN. At some time between Second Impact and 2015, most of his body below the neck was replaced with cybernetic implants. Although he uses his visor to see, production drawings show that he still has eyes. The inspiration for his name (and, arguably, his character) originates from Konrad Lorenz, a zoologist known especially for his research on animal psychology.[2] In the manga, his name is given as Lorenz Kiel.

Kensuke Aida[2](相田 ケンスケ,Aida Kensuke?) is an otaku, a military buff, Toji's best friend, and one of the "Other Children," Eva pilot candidates in the same class as Shinji, Toji, Rei, Asuka, and Hikari. His hobbies include camping in the mountains surrounding Tokyo-3 and playing at simulated war reenacting - by himself. Kensuke solidifies his friendship with Shinji after Shinji saves him and Toji during the fight against the fourth Angel, Shamshel.[6] Kensuke dreams of becoming an Eva pilot and ceaselessly begs Shinji to pull strings in NERV so he can be selected as a pilot, despite Shinji telling him that he has no say in the matter. He also seems oblivious to the intense physical and psychological distress endured by Eva pilots. Nevertheless, Kensuke enjoys the privileges of being the friend of an Eva pilot.[13] Like Toji, Kensuke has a crush on Misato Katsuragi. He is rarely seen without his camcorder at hand. In the PS2Battle Orchestra game, Kensuke is the appointed pilot to the EVA Unit 04, wearing a green plugsuit.[58]

Hikari Horaki[2](洞木 ヒカリ,Horaki Hikari?) is the class representative of the class that Shinji and the other Eva pilots attend. She has a by-the-book demeanor and takes her responsibilities as "class rep" seriously. Although she frequently bickers with Toji, she reveals to Asuka that she has an enormous crush on Toji but is unable to openly express her feelings to him. She also appears to be Asuka's only friend. Hikari is an accomplished cook who appears to take care of her two sisters. Like presumably every one of Shinji's classmates, Hikari's mother is dead. However, no references were ever made as to whether her father is, either. Her given name, and that of her unseen younger sister, Nozomi, and elder sister, Kodama, is also in reference to the names of the trains of the Tokaido Shinkansen line.[2] In a Gainax artwork picture she is shown in an orange plugsuit as the pilot for EVA Unit-05.[58] She is also featured in a live action deleted scene in The End of Evangelion.

Pen Pen, or Pen²[2](ペンペン,Penpen?) is a "hot spring penguin" and Misato's pet. He appears to be modeled after a crested penguin with some minor coloration change. He lives in a custom refrigerator in Misato's apartment, enjoys taking warm baths, eating whatever food he can get, and going to hot springs. He also appears to have a relatively high degree of intelligence, as he is also shown watching TV and reading newspapers. In the manga, he is the result of a genetics experiment at Misato's former workplace, and she adopted him after the experiment's conclusion rather than let him be euthanised. His wingtips have retractable claws, which modern birds do not have.

Mana Kirishima (霧島 マナ,Kirishima Mana?)[59] is the main focus of Girlfriend of Steel, a game that is like an episode of the series. She appears as a transfer student at the Children's school, and becomes the focus of Shinji's interest and Asuka's jealous ire. She is the pilot of another man-made replacement for the Evas, the Trident, whose combat skills are somewhat more on par with the Evangelions', to whom they bear a resemblance in design compared to the Jet Alone robot. She also appears in Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Like many Evangelion characters, Mana's family name, Kirishima, is taken from a World War II battleship.[60]

A shy female character, Mana Kirishima, starts at Shinji Ikari's school and immediately admits to finding him cute. Gradually, a relationship unfolds and they end up going on a date where they kiss. It turns out, however, that she is one of three test pilots of TRIDENT, a new competitor to the Evangelions, similar to Jet Alone (thus the name "Girlfriend of Steel"). Eventually, the other robot goes berserk and the Evas have to destroy it. Throughout the game, Asuka is constantly jealous of Shinji and Mana's relationship, consistent with her romantic feelings for Shinji. Rei is present but plays a rather background role in the story.

Mayumi Yamagishi (山岸 マユミ,Yamagishi Mayumi?)[61] is the new character introduced in the Sega Saturn game Evangelion 2nd Impression. In the game, Mayumi is a bespectacled bookworm who somehow has the core of an Angel inside her body. She joins Shinji's class and befriends him, and like many of the Evangelion cast, has a dark history (her mother apparently committed suicide while Mayumi was a girl, much like Asuka's mother).

The character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto have also contributed to the popularity of Evangelion. Sadamoto's attractive designs of the three main female leads, Asuka, Rei and Misato, led to extremely high sales of merchandise[65] (especially of Rei, the "Premium Girl"[66]), and they have been immortalized in the dōjinshi community,[67]

^Neon Genesis Evangelion, episode 5: Ritsuko: "Although they [the Angels] are composed of a different form of matter, their actual composition, in terms of the arrangement and spacing of the pattern, falls within a 99.89% match of human genes."

^The End of Evangelion, episode 25, about 3:38, Seele's leader: "The appointed time has come. We've lost the Longinus Lance. We cannot use Lilith to complete the project any more. Hopefully, we will use Lilith's only clone, EVA 01, to complete the mission."

^Neon Genesis Evangelion, episode 17: Seele, to Misato: "…the Angel attempted contact with the pilot. Do you think this has any significance regarding the predicted thirteenth Angel, and all Angels thereafter?"

^"The release in October 1995 of Neon Genesis Evangelion on Japanese TV ignited a boom in merchandise unprecedented in a country already awash with such goods. As if overnight, well over 600 different items were made to commemorate the event. Figures were the most popular, with the inimitable bandaged Rei outselling all else. The Eva girls, kitted out in swimwear and striking suggestive poses, were, overall, a huge success, and things went a bit too far…" pg 126 of Fujie 2004. See also: "Arguably, it is because of Anno's dictates on design that few Evangelion toys were initially made. But figures of Rei, in all her bandaged beauty, sold like wild fire. This is probably the first and only example of an animated [mecha] series where reproductions of the human characters outsold those of the robots." pg 98.

^"Rei's popularity soared in Japan, with books featuring her image on the cover selling like hot cakes. She was christened by the media, "The girl who manipulates magazine sales at will", "The fastest route to the sold-out sign!" And even, "The Premium Girl."" pg 39 of Fujie 2004